If you ever watched the 2005 movie “Batman Begins,” starring Christian Bale, you surely recall the line “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me.”

Back then, Batt Man, an American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) leading sire of Western Pleasure contenders wasn’t even born yet. But all of the astute and dedicated horsemen in his life, knew very early that he would someday live up to that proclamation.

Batt Man’s breeder, Jack Creditt, of Wilmington, Ohio, purchased his dam, Custom Maid Rodder based solely on a picture he saw of the sorrel mare by Radical Rodder. He bred her to Hall of Fame sire Good Version the same year that “Batman Begins” hit the big screen and the following April the bay colt arrived.

“He was born here on our farm,” Creditt explained. “We sold him as a yearling and fortunately, nine years later we were able to buy a part of him back. By then, he was a proven stallion and we were excited to get to own him again.”

Proven he was.

Since 2014 Batt Man has been owned by the partnership of Creditt and Trevor Barnes, the Ohio trainer who broke him and showed him to a Congress Championship in the 3-Year-Old Limited Open Western Pleasure Derby.

“He was always so natural,” Barnes said. “They always say a great horse makes a trainer and any success I have had I owe to Batt Man. As a show horse he was the complete package – a 10 jogger and 10 loper.  We showed him until his first foal crop hit the show pen so he was six years old when he retired to the breeding shed.”

But by then Batt Man had earned a Superior in Western Pleasure and was second in the nation in Junior Stallions.

Barnes still recalls, however, the first time he laid eyes on the friendly bay colt.

“I had a client at the time who wanted me to look at his yearlings,” he explained. “There were probably 10 yearlings in this pasture and this client really wanted me to look at a palomino. It became almost impossible because this friendly bay colt kept getting in the way. I was able to chase him off and when I watched him lope I immediately asked about him. My client was disappointed that I picked the bay colt but two months later he saw what I had seen that day and offered me half ownership if I would train him. I could not turn it down”

Barnes never changed his opinion about just how special Batt Man is.

“When we were chasing the points for his Superior we would collect him on Friday morning and then head to the show,” he said. “At the shows you would have thought he was a gelding.”

And, along with his solid conformation, it’s that temperament that Barnes says Batt Man most consistently passes on to his foals.

In 2013 Ohio trainer Ashley Lakins won the Coughlin 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure at the Congress riding So Good To B Me, out of Good Baby Hotrod (by Hocus Pocus Hotrod) from Batt Man’s first foal crop.

“He was so talented and handy from the beginning,” Lakins said. “He had a big personality and was pretty easy to train. He did not like to be in trouble. Had a ton of cadence to him. He was such a fun horse.”

That was just the start of Batt Man foals making thier mark in the show pen. Today, he is a multiple Congress, AQHA and National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) World Champion producer. His foals have earned over 5,300 AQHA points and logged over $1 million in total earnings.

In 2023 Batt Man was ranked number eight on AQHA’s list of top Western Pleasure sires of the year, based on QData statistics of offspring earnings, number of money earners, average earnings and the sire’s leading money earner.

“The Batt Man youngsters we have had have been really cool horses,” Lakins added. “They have a ton of talent and seem to want to please you. They are usually great made and that seems to make it easy for them to do their job. We have had quite a few over the years and have had a lot of success with them.”

Some of Batt Man’s most notable offspring include:

• So Good To B Me, in addition to his Congress Championship in the Coughlin Western Pleasure, this bay gelding earned an AQHA World Championship title in Junior Trail.

• Strike 3, AQHA Youth Western Pleasure World Champion, NSBA Youth Western Pleasure World Champion and Congress Youth Western Pleasure Champion.

• Battarang, AQHA Youth Western Pleasure World Champion, NSBA Youth Western Pleasure World Champion and Congress Youth Western Pleasure Champion.

• Spyderman, Tom Powers Triple Challenge 2-Year-Old Limited Open Western Pleasure Stakes Co-Champion and Top 10 AQHA World 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure.

• Loping Radical, two-time Congress Reserve Western Pleasure Champion and Level 2 World Champion Western Pleasure

• Supermann, NSBA World Champion 3-Year- Old Int. Open Western Pleasure).

• Jbll Wonder Woman, Congress NSBA 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure Futurity Reserve Champion.

• A New Man, Palomino Horse Breeders of America Youth World Champion in Western Pleasure.

“Batt Man himself has a butt as wide as a pickup truck and he often stamps that on his babies,” Creditt said. “He is very easy to be around. He himself has a slow, slow jog and it has often been said that you didn’t want to get behind him on the rail because you would for sure have to pass him. His lope is awesome, as well.

He has a big hock and his front leg is stick straight.”

Creditt and his wife of 53 years, Pat, have raised many Batt Man foals themselves at their 65-acre farm just a half mile away from the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, Ohio.

Both enjoy showing in Longe Line and Jack has competed at most all the major shows and futurities across the United States. He has placed numerous times in the top five at the Congress, Tom Powers Futurity and NSBA World Show.

“Our goal is to raise quality horses that will make it to the show pen,” Jack said. “It is very exciting to be watching a class and to hear a Batt Man offspring’s name called by the announcer. Most of the Batt Man’s have a look that is recognizable and many times it is easy to pick them out in a class.

In addition to owning part of Batt Mann, Jack and Pat also own the AQHA stallion Elvis On Impulse (sired by Potential Career), Battmans Covergirl, a 2021mare by Batt Man, currently in training with Kenny & Ashley Lakins; four weanlings by Batt Man, and two by Elvis; and three yearlings – two by Batt Man and one by Elvis.

“We also have several broodmares, most of them former show horses,” Jack said.

Because they have known Batt Man since he was just a baby, both Creditt and Barnes feel they know everything there is to know about their stallion and have complete faith in his ability to sire foals with the highest degree of potential for the show pen.

Barnes lives in Wapakoneta, Ohio with his wife, Trisha and 15-year-old son, Braden. He established his own training operation in 2006 and has earned numerousPHBA World Championship titles and wins in Western Pleasure and Longe Line at futurities including the Tom Powers Triple Challenge, Ohio, Northern and Southern Ohio, in addition to his Congress Championship with Batt Man himself.

Barnes’ facility includes eight stalls plus indoor and outdoor arenas and multiple pastures on a piece of property 90 minutes northwest of Columbus, close to Indian Lake. There Trevor raises one to three babies a year. He currently has three weanlings and two yearlings. He recently added a young daughter of RL Best Of Sudden who traces back to the great show mare Form The Line Behind, who Gary Trubee found for him and he is eager to cross her on Batt Man.

“My goal is to breed quality prospects and promote Batt Man,” he said. “He consistently produces big boned foals with huge hips that can jog.

If your mare has a long back, Batt Man has a very short back. If your mare has knee, Batt Man has a flat knee. If your mare has too much hock action, Batt Man swings from the hip. And if your mare can’t jog, Batt Man sure can.”

Batt Man will once stand in 2025 at Richland Ranch in Auburn, Indiana, under the supervision of breeding manager Karen Boxell Alderman. His stud fee is $2,250 with consideration given to Congress and World Champion mares; multiple mares and return customers. Batt Man is enrolled in the NSBA’s BCF and SIF; the Super Sires and Premier Sires.

For information contact Alderman at (217) 438-9910 or visit Batt Man on the web at www.richlandranch.com.